The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, has announced its participation as a new investor in a $520 million Series A-X extension round for Texas-based humanoid robotics company, Apptronik. The investment marks another significant move by QIA into the frontier technology sector, signalling strong regional confidence in the commercial future of advanced robotics.
The round also saw participation from new investors AT&T Ventures and John Deere, alongside existing backers including B Capital, Google, and Mercedes-Benz. This extension follows a $415 million Series A in 2025, bringing Apptronik’s total capital raised to nearly $1 billion and valuing the company at a reported $5 billion.
QIA’s Frontier Technology Strategy
For QIA, this investment aligns with a broader strategy of backing transformative technologies with long-term, real-world applications. The move into humanoid robotics follows a series of high-profile investments in advanced tech, including participation in funding rounds for Elon Musk’s xAI, US chipmaker Positron, and AI leader Anthropic.
By investing in Apptronik, QIA is strategically positioning itself at the intersection of several key global shifts, including labor market evolution, automation economics, and AI-driven physical intelligence. The fund’s participation underscores a growing trend among sovereign wealth funds to deploy long-horizon capital into scaling proven technologies rather than just early-stage experiments.
Fueling Commercial Scale Production
Apptronik will use the new capital to accelerate the production of its award-winning humanoid robot, Apollo. The funding is earmarked to expand its global network of commercial deployments and pilot programmes, shortening the time to market for its growing customer base in retail, manufacturing, and logistics.
A key focus will be on developing state-of-the-art facilities for robot training and data collection, which are critical for enhancing the real-world capabilities and reliability of its robots. The company is also continuing its innovation in human-centered robot design, with plans to debut a new robot in 2026.
Apollo Enters the Workforce
Apptronik’s Apollo is a humanoid robot designed to operate in environments built for humans, such as warehouses and factory floors. Unlike research prototypes, Apollo is positioned as a commercially deployable system capable of handling physically demanding and repetitive tasks, from sorting and kitting to component transport, while working collaboratively alongside human teams.
The company emerged from the Human Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Texas at Austin and has spent nearly a decade developing advanced mobility platforms, including work on NASA’s Valkyrie robot.
About Apptronik
Apptronik is a US-based robotics company focused on developing next-generation humanoid robots designed to work alongside humans in real-world environments. Its flagship robot, Apollo, aims to address labor challenges and enhance productivity in industries such as logistics, manufacturing, and retail.
Source: Zawya
